The Many Uses for Clones

Rating: 9/10 (27 July 2005)

This movie poses the question: What happens when cloning, to be commercially successful, forces the scientist to make an actual complete human copy? The vegetative clone does not thrive, so the scientists had to produce a living clone--a walk-about product, you might say. And Product is what the clone is--it is owned by its original. Then what does the scientist do with this intelligent-but-naive creature? Well, he dreams up an artificial world, a source from which they have sprung--these clones are survivors from an apocalyptic world--and a background history--implanted memories. It's kind of a Reality Show, a Survivor series, but a little boring for the participants. The scientist, a corporate CEO (Sean Bean, devilishly handsome) in this movie, decides it's best to keep all this a secret; the rest of the world thinks this expensive cloning is vegetative and probably just parts, anyway. Big deal. All is well; the money is rolling in (a Product costs five million American dollars). All is well, that is, until the Product, Lincoln Six Echo (Ewan McGregor), has become inordinately curious. This is where the movie begins.
These Products, the clones, are actually identical twins to their respective owners/originals. Also, think "non-locality"--as in the movie "Suspect Zero" (special features on the DVD). The science and science fiction in this movie are exhilarating. I'm reminded of "Logan's Run" and "Blade Runner", and that's good company. Plus the traffic accident--or car chase or whatever they're calling such mayhem--is rather unique.
Because the character development is so good, you the viewer are drawn into the clones' dilemma. The most interesting clone is the one who is trying to figure out how the Lottery (win a trip to the Island!) has been rigged--this guy's gotta get a Supporting Actor Oscar nomination--what comic relief! The contrast between the goons who deliver the clones to the operating room and the worker McCord who befriends Lincoln Six Echo (that's Steve Buscemi, another good character actor) is great realism--some people become brutalized by their experience and some become empathic. The responsiveness of Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johansson) to new experiences and the innocence of both leads to the outside world is well done. It's quite believable in terms of how the cloning is done, how clones are utilized and what the clone institution and the outside world look like. There are still biker bars! Yeah!
And why do I call this piece "The Many Uses of Clones"? Who could have imagined to what use a clone could be put--I shudder to think of what other diabolical uses science could dream up for cloning. This is a major theme of science fiction--what happens when science misuses its knowledge; "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley is considered the first novel to explore this idea. Consider "The Island" a cautionary tale, told in great style and conviction.